Winston's Birthday, Part 2
by Newgirl78
Summary: Sometimes the second time around is even sweeter.


**Remember when the episode was originally called Winston's Birthday, Part 1 and we couldn't figure out why, when we KNEW the finale was Cece's wedding? Perhaps this is why... :::evil laugh:::**

* * *

Nick grabbed his jacket from the desk in the back office of the bar and kicked the door shut behind him as he left. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he saw that it was just after midnight. He figured he had just enough time for his plan to work out perfectly. He opened a text to Jess.

_Trying to leave early. might be awhile. Wait up for me if you can?_

_Of course. Love you._

_love you too._

Smiling to himself, he waved to Bob behind the bar as he headed for the front door.

* * *

Schmidt was sitting on his couch when he heard his phone ring.

"Hello?"

Nick was speaking in a low voice on the other end. "I'm downstairs, is it safe to come up?"

Schmidt jumped off the couch and headed for the door. Cracking it open, he stared across the hall at the closed door of 4D. "You're good. I'll let you know if I see anyone, stay on here."

A minute later the elevator pinged and Nick poked his head out. Schmidt hung up his phone and motioned him into the apartment. Walking past him into Schmidt's loft, Nick looked around nervously.

"Hey, thanks man." Nick threw his jacket on the couch and pushed up his sleeves. "Let's get to work, we don't have a lot of time."

"What's with the deadline anyway? Couldn't you just do this in the morning?" Schmidt shook his head in confusion as Nick started rummaging around the kitchen.

"Where's the pot thingy?"

Schmidt grimaced. "A pot?! You make eggs in a skillet you idiot!"

"_Alright_." Nick hissed. "Geez..."

Maneuvering around him, Schmidt set the skillet down on the stove and pointed to the eggs he had placed on the counter. "So what's the rush? Doesn't she know you came home early to celebrate?"

"No." Nick grimaced as the shell to the first broken egg crumbled into the bowl. "_Damn_...It's a long story. I have to have this all set up in the next 20 minutes."

"Well you're never going to do that if you keep cracking the damn eggs like that." Schmidt shoved his palms against Nick's shoulder, pushing him out of the way. "Move it."

Nick rolled his eyes and stepped to the side. "I've done this for her before, you know."

"Fine. I guess if she likes crunchy eggs…." Schmidt raised his hands in surrender and turned to pull a stool up the butcher block to sit down. He watched Nick for a moment, shaking his head. "So she doesn't know anything?"

"I don't think so." Nick shook his head, cracking the last egg into the bowl. He spun around confused and Schmidt rolled his eyes.

"The _wisk, _Niiiick."

"Oh right, Jess showed me this once." He held it up, grinning. "It hurts like a son of a bitch when you get your tongue stuck in there."

Schmidt grimaced. "What are you, five?!"

Nick shrugged and continued preparing the eggs. After pouring them into the skillet, he turned around and leaned against the counter, nervously tugging on the back of his neck with a deep breath.

"She's going to love it, Nick." Schmidt leaned back on his forearms and smiled. "I'm really happy for you two."

"Thanks, man." Nick swallowed hard, brushing the back of his hand along his forehead. "I hope I can pull this off."

* * *

Jess heard her phone ring next to her and sleepily blinked open her eyes. She hadn't planned on falling asleep, but she had barely been able to keep her eyes open after Nick had sent her his text. She assumed he had just gotten held up with closing the bar down for the night. Rubbing her eyelids roughly, she reached to grab her phone and flipped it over. It took her a moment to focus and squinted her eyes at the time.

1:22 am

Huh. It wasn't even closing time yet, maybe he had left early after all. She was about to answer the phone when she realized that it had only rung once. Frowning, she started to call Nick back when a text came through. Grabbing her glasses, she took another look at the screen, finally in focus.

_Roof_

Still confused in her half-asleep state, she gave her head a quick shake and slapped her cheek. Climbing out of bed with a grumble, she grabbed her robe and slowly made her way out of the apartment. It wasn't until she had reached the top of the stairs and the breeze hit her face as she stepped out onto the roof, that she realized what all this was about. As the door latched softly behind her, echoing into the night, the breeze tugged on her ponytail and Nick glanced up at her from his spot in front of the small blue, wrought iron table. A huge smile came across his face as he walked over to meet her, his fingers gently taking her hands as he leaned down to kiss her.

He whispered softly, eyes sparkling. "Happy Anniversary".

"Nick." Jess felt tears sting her eyes and dropped his hands to wrap her arms tightly around his waist. "You did all this for _me_?"

"Of course I did. You know, we never _did_ get to have that breakfast."

She shook her head and laughed, the sound making his heart swell. "We didn't, did we?"

"Your table?" Stepping back to extend his elbow, she wrapped her fingers around his arm and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. Kissing the top of her head, Nick took a deep breath and was calmed by her familiar scent, one that he had grown to love so much. It had become "home" to him this past year, and there were still moments when he couldn't believe this was real.

Making their way to the table, Nick loosened his grip to pull out her chair. Bowing at the waist, he gestured towards the table with a wink. "Your chair, m'lady."

Jess sat down with a laugh, Nick taking the seat beside her. Jess happily handed him a fork and giggled. Holding hers in the air, she scooted closer to him and squeezed his knee. "To finally getting our morning after breakfast."

Nick laughed and tapped his fork against hers, quickly brushing his lips across her cheek. "Dig in."

Jess scooped a huge bite her mouth, laughing as some of it fell back on the plate. Nick just shook his head at her.

She smiled, pressing her fingers to her lips and giving a small moan. "Mmm, your eggs have really improved, Miller."

"Lemme try." Leaning past her to steal a piece out from under her fork, she feigned annoyance.

"Hey!" She poked at his fork playfully, the metal making a soft ping in the quiet night air. She started laughing and reached to take a sip of her mimosa. Closing her eyes with the first sip, she sighed. "The is so perfect."

"And no interruptions this time." Eyebrows raised, Nick nodded proudly.

"Did you make _sure_ no one would come up here?"

"Are you _kidding_ me? After what happened last time?" He put down his own fork and took quickly swallowed the contents in his glass. She smirked at him and went to grab another bite of their eggs.

"So tell me" Jess brushed a piece of hair off her face that had escaped her ponytail before reaching out to lay her hand over his on the table. "What would you have said last year if they hadn't have interrupted us?" She looked at him expectantly and he go lost in her eyes for a moment.

Finally, taking a deep breath, he took her hand in both of his. "I would have told you that no matter what your dad said, last night was the best night of my life." He grinned, taking a moment to pause. "Okay well, until that point anyway." He watched her face light up and her eyes start to glisten. Shifting in his seat, his knees brushed gently against hers and his face fell serious again. "If I would have had _any_ idea that all of this was a possibility, I would have kissed you a lot sooner than I did. You know that right?"

"Nick."

"I've loved you for _so_ long, Jess."

"I love you too." Reaching up to cup his cheek, she tilted her head and smiled. Smoothing her thumb over his lips, she shifted closer to him and leaned over to kiss him. Her eyes fluttered, inches from his as she rubbed her palm against his cheek. "Things happen when they're meant to." Biting her lip, a beat passed and she sighed. "We're together now, and that's all that matters."

His face broke into a smile. "All in."

She nodded. "All in, Miller."

He paused for a moment to watch her expression and then shook his head. Standing up, he brushed his palms against his flannel robe and held out his hand. "Dance with me?"

"Dancing, huh?" Taking his offered hand, she winked. "It _must_ be a special night." Pulling her off the seat and into his arms, he kissed her firmly.

"It is."

Smiling, her hands slowly crept up his chest and around his neck, Nick's arms wrapping around her waist. Glancing at her down over the bridge of his nose, his eyes sparkled with his matter-of-fact tone. "You know this is my favorite Jess right here, right?"

"Your favorite Jess?" She stared at him, intrigued.

"Mmmhmm." His left hand slid up her back to the base of her skull and coaxed her head to rest on his chest. Leaning his chin on the crown of her head, he pulled her close, grasping at the tiny loose hairs on her neck. "All warm and soft in your pajamas and robe, with your hair pulled back and your glasses on."

She giggled and snuggled further into his chest, closing her eyes. Their bodies moved slowly together, unaware that no music was playing.

His voice grew softer. Calm and soothing. "All I can think about every night is you waiting for me when I get home from the bar. The way you sit on my side to keep it warm and make room for me when I finally come to bed." She lifted her head to look at him and his fingers swept across her cheek, a smile forming in their path. "I always want to come home to you Jess. For the rest of my life."

They stopped swaying as Jess tugged on his robe, pulling his mouth down to hers. She choked on her words in between kisses. "I love you." Tugging his robe in her fists, she grasped at his chest and her breathing became heavy. Chasing his lips, she couldn't be close enough to him and pulled him to her with all her strength. Feeling so much for him in that moment, she got swept away in her emotions and her head began to spin. She could feel her heart letting go and all she wanted was to be like this forever. Slowing their pace, her kisses became softer and longer, holding on to each one with a sharp breath. Finally she found her voice, barely audible. "Marry me, Nick."

Nick froze, his lips pressed to hers before he opened his eyes and pulled away. Her hands immediately relaxed against his chest and she held her breath, eyes widening. She began to blink furiously, mouth dropping open slightly as she searched his eyes.

"Oh God, I…." She swallowed hard and shook her head slowly. Had she heard herself correctly? What had she just said? The moment seemed so surreal and the air around them suddenly stilled. Jess felt her chest tighten and her heart pick up speed, waiting for some sort of response from Nick. He began to squint at her as his face fell into an unreadable expression. So worried that she had messed something up between them, her hands dropped to his arms and gave them a gentle squeeze.

Stunned silent, Nick's eyes continued to stare into hers as he slowly shook his head, face contorting into a strange expression.

Finally realizing the gravity of what she had said in the moment, Jess' expression slowly fell into disbelief and she was about to say something when Nick turned around and started to take several steps away from her.

Jess felt tears forming in her eyes and an overwhelming fear take over her as she cautiously stepped towards him. She gently placed her palm on his shoulder, biting her lip as Nick shoved his hands into the pocket of his robe.

"Nick," Her voice came out in one long gasp. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have..."

Whipping around, he silenced her with his piercing stare. They locked eyes for a moment, both of them forgetting to breathe until the corners of Nick's mouth began to twitch. Her eyes fell between his lips and his eyes and his face broke into a grin. Shaking his head and exhaling a long breath, they both started to laugh. Having broken the tension just a little, Jess let out a sharp giggle and shook her head. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, laughing in his ear.

"Raaaaandooooom." Her voice sang in his ear as she sunk down off her tiptoes and pulled back to look at him. Her hands slid down his chest, tapping her fingers gently.

"That came out...so...weird." Her speech slowed as something caught her eye.

Dropping her gaze with her punctuated words, her eyes fell to Nick's hands, following their every move. Grasping her left hand from his chest, he held it gently in his fingers with a devious glint in his eye. Watching her expression carefully as she glanced frantically between his hand and his eyes in disbelief, a huge grin spread across his face. Jess gasped as he slid a sparkling diamond ring on her finger.

"Oh my God..." Her words were quickly silenced by his lips pressing first softly, then more urgently, to her lips. Leaning back between kisses, he let out a tiny laugh and smiled.

"Yes."

Jess blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Yes." Matter-of-factly, he nodded.

"Oh God, I just..." Her smile erupted into laughter. Eyes wide, her hands pulled back to cover her mouth in shock. "I asked you to..."

Nick nodded and they both slowly broke into laughter again. Grasping her hands and pulling them to his chest, he wound his arms around her waist.

Eyes falling to her left hand, a tear fell down Jess' cheek as she shook her head in disbelief. "Nick, it's so beautiful."

"_You_ are beautiful." Eyes meeting his, she felt them fill with tears. He kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheek, and finally her lips. When he pulled back, she watched his smile light up his entire face. "Jessica, will you marry me?"

"Yes." Grinning widely, she bit her lip and nodding excitedly with a tiny squeal. "Yes!"


End file.
